LPBCurrentNom - Eldridge Tire-1519 Broadway LMN R

1519 Broadway/Eldridge Tire Company
1925
1519 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122

6003000510
See below
Nagles Addition
15
Legal Description: Lot 9 in Block 15 of addition to the City of Seattle, as laid off by D.T.
Denny, guardian of the estate of J.M. Nagle (commonly known as Nagles Addition to
the City of Seattle) as per plat recorded in Volume 1 of Plats, page 153, records of King
County, except the west 8 feet thereof condemned for alley, situate in the city of Seattle,
County of King, State of Washington.
Retail store
Seattle Central College
& parking
Eldridge Buick Co.
Auto Service & Tire
A. H. Albertson
Stewart Construction Co.
Stephen J. Starling, AIA

901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3100, Seattle, WA 98164
206-682-8300
10/26/2016
Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway
Landmark Nomination Report

September 2016
Prepared by:
The Johnson Partnership

1212 NE 65th Street
Seattle, WA 98115-6724
206-523-1618, www.tjp.us

September 2016, page i
T ABLE
OF
C ONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1
Background .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2
Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 1
2.
PROPERTY DATA ............................................................................................................................... 2
3.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................ 3

3.1
Location & Neighborhood Character ................................................................................... 3
3.2
Site ....................................................................................................................................... 3
3.3
Building Structure & Exterior Features ................................................................................. 3
3.4
Plan & Interior Features ....................................................................................................... 3
3.5
Documented Building Alterations......................................................................................... 3
4.
SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................................................... 4
4.1
Historic Neighborhood Context: Capitol Hill ...................................................................... 4
4.2
Building History: 1519 Broadway/Eldridge Tire ................................................................... 6
4.3
Historical Architectural Context ........................................................................................... 6
4.3.1 Mission Revival Style ................................................................................................. 6
4.3.2 Auto Showrooms, Dealerships, and Automotive Service Stores in Seattle ................... 7
4.4
Original Building Owner: A. S. Eldridge & Eldridge Buick .................................................. 9
4.5
Subsequent Building Owner: Seattle Central College .......................................................... 11
4.6
Building Architect: A. H. Albertson .................................................................................... 12
4.7
Building Contractor: Stewart Construction Co. .................................................................. 13
5.
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................ 14
APPENDIX 1FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. 16

APPENDIX 2LIST OF EXTANT BUILDINGS IN SEATTLE BY ALBERTSON, WILSON & RICHARDSON ....... 17

September 2016, page ii
L IST
OF
F IGURES
Figure 1 Location Map, Seattle............................................................................................................. A-1

Figure 2 Neighborhood map ................................................................................................................ A-2
Figure 3 View A - Viewing north along Broadway Avenue ................................................................... A-3
Figure 4 View B - Viewing south along Broadway Avenue ................................................................... A-3
Figure 5 Site Plan ................................................................................................................................. A-4
Figure 6 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway eastern faade .......................................................................... A-5
Figure 7 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront ................................................................ A-5
Figure 8 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront ................................................................ A-6
Figure 9 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail at roof ........................................................................... A-6
Figure 10 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront & porte-cochre .................................... A-7
Figure 11 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, southern storefront............................................................... A-7
Figure 12 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail of tile .......................................................................... A-8
Figure 13 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, western faade ...................................................................... A-8
Figure 14 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, interior at southern retail space ............................................ A-9
Figure 15 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, interior at southern retail space ............................................ A-9
Figure 16 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, interior at southern retail space .......................................... A-10
Figure 17 Lincoln Reservoir under construction, September 18, 1899 ............................................... A-11
Figure 18 Pike Street from Broadway Avenue E, 1911 ....................................................................... A-11
Figure 19 Broadway High School, Broadway and E Pine Street, 1908 ............................................... A-12
Figure 20 Auto row buildings in Capitol Hill, Seattle, 1921 ............................................................... A-12
Figure 21 Eldridge Motors, 1936 ....................................................................................................... A-13
Figure 22 Former Broadway State Bank, Broadway and Pike, 1936 (Louis & Michael Beezer,
1913) .............................................................................................................................. A-13
Figure 23 The Wintonia Hotel, 1431 Minor Avenue (Bebb & Mendel, 1909, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-14
Figure 24 First Covenant Church, 1500 Bellevue Avenue E (John Creutzer, 1910-1911, City of
Seattle Landmark) ......................................................................................................... A-14
Figure 25 The Summit School/Northwest School, 1415 Summit Avenue (James Stephen, 1905,
City of Seattle Landmark) ............................................................................................... A-15
Figure 26 Old Fire Station #25, 1400 Harvard Avenue (Somervell & Cote, 1909, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-15
Figure 27 Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company Building, 1525 11th Avenue (Julian Everett,
1917, City of Seattle Landmark) ..................................................................................... A-16
Figure 28 White Motor Company Building, 1021 E Pine Street (Julian Everett, 1917-18, City of
Seattle Landmark) .......................................................................................................... A-16
Figure 29 First African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1522 14th Avenue (1912, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-17
Figure 30 Lincoln Reservoir, 1000 E Pine Street (R. H. Thompson, 1900, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-17
Figure 31 Eldridge Tire, 1519 Broadway, 1937 .................................................................................. A-18
Figure 32 Broadway Cafe, former Eldridge Tire, 1519 Broadway, 2010 ............................................. A-18
Figure 33 San Diego National City and Otay Depot (1896), ............................................................ A-19
Figure 34 California Pavilion at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago (A. Page Brown,
1892-93) ......................................................................................................................... A-19
Figure 35 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, OR, 1905 ............................................... A-20
Figure 36 LAmourita Apartments, Seattle (1909) .............................................................................. A-20

September 2016, page iii
Figure 37 Cornish School, also known as the Booth Building, Broadway (1906) ............................... A-21
Figure 38 Garage for A. A. Bain and A. D. Schafer/Pontius Garage, 421 Eastlake Avenue (William
Bain, Sr., 1926) ............................................................................................................. A-21
Figure 39 Wilson Motor Company, Ballard Avenue (1905, 1923) .................................................... A-22
Figure 40 Goodwin Texaco building at 2101 Third Avenue (1926) .................................................. A-22
Figure 41 The Pacific McKay Building (Harlan Thomas and Clyde Granger, 1925, City of Seattle
Landmark) ..................................................................................................................... A-23
Figure 42 Eldridge Buick showroom, 4500 University Way (Schack, Young & Meyers, 1926) ......... A-23
Figure 43 Durant-Star Co./Dunn Motors Showroom, 333 Westlake Ave N (1928, Victor
Voorhees) ....................................................................................................................... A-24
Figure 44 Garage Building for George L. Seibert, Westlake (Earl Roberts, 1924) ............................... A-24
Figure 45 Former Donahoe Garage (Charles Haynes, 1916) .............................................................. A-25
Figure 46 Firestone Tire, 400 Westlake Avenue (The Austin Company, 1930, City of Seattle
Landmark) .................................................................................................................... A-25
Figure 47 S. L. Savidge dealership (now the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library,
Naramore, Bain, Brady & Johanson, 1948) .................................................................... A-26
Figure 48 Arthur S. and Alice Eldridge at their house in Laurelhurst .................................................. A-26
Figure 49 Eldridge Buick Truck Sales and Service, 1100 E Union Street, 1916 .................................. A-27
Figure 50 Eldridge Buick, Spokane, WA, (Gustav Pehrson, 1925, National Register) ........................ A-27
Figure 51 Former Broadway High School (Boone & Corner, 1902) .................................................. A-28
Figure 52 Broadway High School Annex, Edison Technical School (1921-1930) .............................. A-28
Figure 53 Broadway Edison Building, Seattle Central College 2010 (NBBJ, 1979) ............................ A-29
Figure 54 Metropolitan Theatre (A. H. Albertson of Howell & Stokes, 1910-11) .............................. A-29
Figure 55 Cornish School (A. H. Albertson, 1920-21) ....................................................................... A-30
Figure 56 Mrs. Grant Smith House (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1926-27, City of Seattle
Landmark) ..................................................................................................................... A-30
Figure 57 Downtown YMCA (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1929-31, City of Seattle Landmark).... A-31
Figure 58 Northern Life Building (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1927-29, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-31
Figure 59 St. Joseph Catholic Church (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1929-30, City of Seattle
Landmark) ...................................................................................................................... A-31
Figure 60 Law Building, now Gowan Hall, University of Washington (A. H. Albertson &
Associates, 1931-32) ....................................................................................................... A-32
Figure 61 New Infirmary Building, now the David C. Hall Health Center, University of
Washington (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1934-35) .................................................... A-32

September 2016, page 1

S EPTEM BER 2016
1. I NTRODUCTION
This landmark nomination report provides information regarding the architectural design and
historical significance of 1519 Broadway, formerly known as Eldridge Tire. The building is located at
1519 Broadway in Seattle, Washington. The Johnson Partnership prepared this report at the request
of the owner of the building, Seattle Central College.
1.1 Background
The City of Seattles Department of Construction and Inspections (DCI)formerly the Department
of Planning and Developmentthrough a 1995 agreement with the Department of Neighborhoods,
requires a review of potentially eligible landmarks for commercial projects over 4,000 square feet in
area. The property was identified on the City of Seattle Historic Resource Survey as eligible as a
potential city landmark in 2010. As any proposed redevelopment of the subject building described
within this report will require a permit from DCI, the property owner is providing the following
report to the staff of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) to resolve the status of Eldridge
Tire/1519 Broadway.
To be eligible for nomination as a City of Seattle Landmark, a building, object, or structure must be
at least 25 years old, have significant character, interest, or value, the integrity or ability to convey its
significance, and it must meet one or more of the following six criteria (SMC 25.12.350):
A. It is the location of or is associated in a significant way with an historic event with a
significant effect upon the community, city, state, or nation.
B. It is associated in a significant way with the life of a person important in the history of the
city, state, or nation.
C. It is associated in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or
economic heritage of the community, city, state, or nation.
D. It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, period, or method
of construction.
E. It is an outstanding work of a designer or builder.
F. Because of its prominence of spatial location, contrast of siting, age, or scale, it is an easily
identifiable feature of its neighborhood or the city and contributes to the distinctive quality
or identity of such neighborhood or city.
1.2 M ethodology
Research and development of this report were completed in July and August 2016, by Larry E.
Johnson, AIA, principal, Ellen F. C. Mirro, AIA, and Katherine V. Jaeger of The Johnson
Partnership, 1212 N.E. 65th Street, Seattle, WA. Research was undertaken at the Puget Sound
Regional Archives, the University of Washington Special Collections Library, the Seattle Public
Library, the Museum of History and Industry, the Seattle Times Digital Archives, and Internet sites.
The site and buildings were photographed to document the existing conditions in July 2016.

2. P ROPERTY D ATA
Building Name: Eldridge Tire Company/1519 Broadway
Address: 1519 Broadway
Location: Capitol Hill neighborhood
Assessors File Number: 6003000510
Legal Description: Lot 9 in Block 15 of addition to the City of Seattle, as laid off by D.T.
Denny, guardian of the estate of J.M. Nagle (commonly known as Nagles Addition to the City of
Seattle) as per plat recorded in Volume 1 of Plats, page 153, records of King County, except the west
8 feet thereof condemned for alley, situate in the city of Seattle, County of King, State of
Washington.
Date of Construction: 1925
Original/Present Use: Auto Service & Tire/Retail Store & Parking
Original/Present Owner: Eldridge Buick Co./Seattle Central College
Original Designer: A. H. Albertson
Original Builder: Stewart Construction Co.
Zoning:
MIO-65-NC3P-65
Property Size: 7,200 sq. ft.

Building Size: 1,040 sq. ft.

3. A RCHITECTURAL D ESCRIPTION
3.1 Location & Neighborhood Character
The subject building is located midblock on the western side of Broadway, between Pike and Pine
Streets. Cal Anderson Park and Bobby Morris Playfield, extending three blocks north-south from E
Denny Way to E Pine Street, lies northeast across Broadway and E Pine Street. The surrounding
neighborhood is a mixture of commercial and apartment buildings, dating in age from the early
1900s to the present day, with some older single-family residential buildings located a few block to
the northeast. The subject building is within the Pike/Pine Commercial District. The campus of
Seattle Central College (formerly Seattle Central Community College) is located directly to the
north. See figures 1-4.
3.2 Site
The site measures 120 feet east-west and 60 feet north-south. The site is mostly flat, sloping less than
six feet to the south. The building is located on the eastern side of the site, adjacent to the sidewalk.
More than three quarters of the site is a paved parking area, accessed through a porte-cochre at the
center of the building. Sidewalls of the adjacent buildings enclose the site to the north and south, and
a metal fence encloses the western side adjacent to the alley. A curb cut at the center of the street
frontage allows vehicles to enter the parking lot. See figure 5.
3.3 Building Structure & Exterior Features
The former Eldridge Tire building is a small one-story retail building measuring approximately 60
feet north-south by 25 feet east-west. Stylistically it could be identified as Spanish or Mission Revival.
It consists of three bays. The northern and southern bays are enclosed retail spaces, and the central
bay is an open porte-cochre allowing cars to access the parking area. Cladding is stucco. The retail
bays each have a wall parallel to the sidewalk with a storefront entry, central door and transom above,
with two flanking windows with tiled wall below. Original black 4" x 4" tile with a single line of
turquoise tile exists under beige paint. Each retail bay also has a wall angling back towards the portecochre at a 45 degree angle with a single plate glass arched top window, and a decorative arched tile
panel above, now painted over. Rooflets of red quarry tile cap the parapets at the retail spaces.
Pilasters at each corner project above the parapet and are also capped with red quarry tile rooflets.
The sloped roof over the porte-cochre was originally clad with clay tile roofing, and is now covered
with asphalt shingles. A metal refrigeration unit is located at the western faade of the southern retail
space. See figures 6 13.
3.4 Plan & Interior Features
The plan is simple, with two retail spaces on either side of the porte-cochre. The southern retail
space now houses a fast food restaurant; the northern space houses a barbershop. The interiors of
these spaces are small with retail at the front, and service or kitchen in the back. The interiors of the
retail spaces have been altered. See figures 14 16.
3.5 Documented Building Alterations
The original permit was issued in 1925. There have been some changes to the building over the years
besides the repaired fire damage noted in the permit record. The interiors have been refitted for
alternate uses. The remodel and change of use to a barbershop in the northern interior space occurred
in the mid-1960s. The remodel for a restaurant in the southern interior space occurred some time
before 2010. Also before 2010 the red tile roofing over the porte-cochre was replaced with asphalt
shingle roofing. The original black and turquoise tiles located under the windows have been painted
over, but still exist.
Date
1925
Designer
A.H. Albertson
Description
Build
Permit #
241449

1942
1952
Repair fire damage

New fire doors
354337
418388
4. S IGNIFICANCE
4.1 Historic Neighborhood Context
The project site is situated within the Pike-Pine retail corridor near the southeastern edge of the
Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The Capitol Hill neighborhood is located on a long north-south ridge that overlooks the central
business district and Lake Union to the west, and the Madison Valley and Lake Washington to the
east. The first known use of the area by European American settlers was for a cemetery, later named
Lake View Cemetery, at the areas highest point, near its northern end. Logging of the area began in
the 1880s, followed soon after by residential subdivisions. James Moore (1861-1929), Capitol Hills
chief developer, gave the hill its name in 1901, the area having previously been known as Broadway
Hill. Moore is thought to have chosen the name for the quarter section of land he purchased in 1900,
primarily because his wife came from Denver, another western city that had its own Capitol Hill.
J. H. Nagels First Addition, bounded by Harvard Avenue on the west, a half block east of 14th
Avenue on the east, Union Street on the south and Thomas Street on the north, was platted by
David Denny in 1880, as trustee and guardian of the estate of John H. Nagel, who was at that time
confined to the Insane Asylum for Washington Territory. Nagel, a German immigrant and early
Seattle pioneer, had homesteaded the area amounting to 161 acres in 1855, raising fruits and
vegetables. Denny left an open tract that encompassed most of Nagels original farm, lying one
block east of Broadway to the east side of 12th Avenue, and from the north side of Gould Street (now
Pine Street) to the south side of Hawthorn Street (now Denny Way), possibly in hopes that Nagel
would eventually recover. However, Nagel died in the mental institution in 1897. The City of Seattle
purchased 11.133 acres of the open tract for use as a reservoir. The reservoir and hydraulic pumping
station were completed in 1901, with the remaining area developed as a park (1902, Olmstead
Brothers), and playfield (1908). The reservoir and park were named Lincoln Reservoir and Lincoln
Park and in 1922 renamed Broadway Playfield to avoid confusion with the new Lincoln Park in West
Seattle. The playfield was renamed the Bobby Morris Playfield in 1980. In 2003, the entire site was
named Cal Anderson Park in honor of Washington States first openly gay legislator.1 See figure
17.
Many of the new plats were laid out in conjunction with streetcar lines, specifically to attract new
property owners. The Yesler Way cable car line to Lake Washington opened in 1888. Within 12
months, builders constructed approximately 1,569 homes within three blocks of the cable car line. In
1901, the City Park trolley line was constructed from downtown to what would become Volunteer
Park. By 1909, the Puget Sound Traction Light and Power Company would extend three more lines
north along the Capitol Hill Ridge. Similar to the City Park line, the Capitol Hill line approached
the ridge along Pike Street to reach the last long leg of its route on 15th Avenue. Another line
followed 19th Avenue, and the 23rd Avenue line was laid along the line of the old wagon road as far
north as Portage Bay, and to the entrance of the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition on the
University of Washington Campus. Another streetcar line running up Pike Street was laid by 1912.
See figure 18.
Capitol Hill quickly became a streetcar suburb with residential areas constructed to the sides of the
business and transportation strips of Broadway, 15th Avenue, and 19th Avenue. By 1912, more than
40 additions had been platted within the Capitol Hill area, including Fourth, Yesler, and Moores
seven Capitol Hill tracts, and the several Pontius additions. Capitol Hill became a mix of large grand
houses and modest family houses, often sharing the same block. As platted, the lots are generally
1
Dotty Decoster, Nagle, John H. (1830-1897), HistoryLink.org Essay 9268, January 23, 2010,
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9268 (accessed August 23, 2014).

small, usually around 60' x 120'. Many of these homes were built in the form of the efficient Seattle
Box style.
An increase in residents made neighborhood schools a necessity. The earliest schools in the area were
built in 1890, designed by the firm Saunders & Houghton. Pontius School (now called Lowell
School) was located on the northern end of the neighborhood, and T.T. Minor was on the southern
end. Two more schools were built in 1902: the Walla Walla School (now Horace Mann, City of
Seattle Landmark) by Saunders & Lawton, and Seattle High School, later renamed to Broadway
High School (now Seattle Central College), designed by Boone & Corner. In 1905 the Summit
School (now the Northwest School, City of Seattle Landmark) was constructed on the southern end
of the neighborhood, designed by school district architect James Stephen. One year later Isaac I.
Stevens School, also designed by Stephen, was constructed on the neighborhood's northern end.2 See
figure 19.
Because of the proximity of large Catholic churches and schools built in the area at that time
including Holy Names Academy (1907) at 22nd Avenue E and E Aloha Street, St. Josephs Church
(1907) and School (1908) on 18th Avenue E, and Forest Ridge School (1907) on E Interlaken
Boulevardmany large Catholic families moved into the neighborhood.
Other areas developed a more unified character of grander houses. The first was Millionaires Row
developed by Moore on 14th Avenue just south of Volunteer Park, followed by what became known
as the Harvard-Belmont district.
St. Lukes Hospital was built in the 1920s on 15th Avenue E. The hospital was purchased in 1947 as
one of the first medical facilities for the Group Health Cooperative, which still maintains a Capitol
Hill campus on that site.
The Pike-Pine corridor developed as a commercial district east of downtown along Pike and Pine
Streets from the 300 block until 15th Avenue intersects with E Madison Street. This area served as the
center of automobile sales and associated services from around 1906 until well into the 1950s. The
earliest dealerships were located on Broadway, near Broadway High School.3 By 1909 at least 20 auto
dealers operated in the Pike-Pine neighborhood.4 Examples of major dealers include the Broadway
Automobile Company (Detroit Electric) showroom, located at Broadway and Madison Street; the
(Pierce-Arrow) Motor Car Company, located on E Union Street and Broadway; the Seattle Motor
Car Company (Franklin Motor Cars) located at 1423 Tenth Avenue; Nute & Keena (Packard Motor
Cars) was at E Pike Street and Belmont Avenue; Olympic Motor Cars (Peerless, Chalmers-Detroit,
and Hudson) at 1317 Fifth Avenue; Cummings Motor Car Company at 310 E Pike Street; and M.S.
Brigham Motor Car Co. at 915 E Pike Street. As late as 1940, fourteen new car and seventeen used
car dealerships remained in the area. Other automotive-related businesses clustered in the area, and
by 1909 the area included shops three auto parts stores, at least eight tire stores, and businesses
offering auto repair, auto tops, bodies and windshields. See figure 20.
In 1936, the block formed by the intersections of E Pike and E Pine streets and Broadway and
Harvard Avenue housed auto-related industries including Eldridge Motors Inc., Auto Loans, an
Auto Kitchen, Regalia Auto Parts, Bill Stroms Auto Rebuild, Eldridge Tire, Stewart Warner
Service Station, and the Austin Finance Bank, which specialized in auto loans. In 1936, the only two
buildings on the block that were not part of the auto industry were the Masonic Temple and the
White Log Tavern on E Pine Street.5 See figures 21-22.
The early auto dealership buildings were one or two stories tall and made of brick or concrete, with
large plate glass windows. Auto services tended to use existing buildings, or smaller-scale wooden
buildings with large plate glass windows. As the industry and the district matured, dealerships began
to construct larger and more ornate buildings, up to four stories tall, often faced with terra cotta. The
2
Nile Thompson & Carolyn J. Marr, Building for Learning, Seattle Public Schools Histories, 1862-2000 (Seattle, WA:
School Histories Committee, Seattle School District, 2002).
3
Mimi Sheridan, Historic Property Survey Report: Seattles Neighborhood Commercial Districts, City of Seattle
Department of Neighborhoods, November 2002, p. 28.
4
Mrs. G. W. Walsh, Jr, Seattle, The Automobile Center, The Coast, December 1909, p. 306-310.
5
Puget Sound Regional Archives, Records of Sackman home addition.

design of repair garages focused on fireproof construction of brick and concrete. Examples of auto
showroom buildings in the area include the White Motor Co. Building (City of Seattle Landmark) at
E Pike Street and Eleventh Avenue, a former Packard Dealership at 1120 Pike Street, and Boone &
Company Pontiac (1925) at 1600 Broadway. Other notable buildings in the Pike-Pine corridor
include the Lorraine Court Apartments at 1025 E Pike Street, the IOOF Temple at 911 E Pine
Street, the Johnson & Hamilton Mortuary at 1400 Broadway, the Hotel Avondale at 1100 Pike
Street, the Booth Building (1906) on Broadway (once the home of Cornish College of the Arts), and
the Butterworth Mortuary at 300 E Pine Street. 6
Apartment house development occurred parallel and in some cases immediately adjacent to single
family residential development. Many of the early multi-family buildings provided large units within
handsome structures with garden areas, providing housing for families. Later, many of these larger
apartments were divided into smaller units for single occupants. Likewise, many larger single-family
residences were converted to rooming houses. A few bungalow courts in their various forms were also
built in the area within easy walking distance to streetcar lines in the 1920s.
Capitol Hill is now a vibrant community with a thriving business district along Broadway Avenue,
15th Avenue E, and 19th Avenue E. It is home to Volunteer Park and the Seattle Asian Art Museum,
St. Marks Episcopal Cathedral, as well as other churches, Seattle Central College, Cornish College
for the Arts, as well as many shops, restaurants, night classes, and coffeehouses. Madison Street has
also seen major redevelopment. Area Landmarks include the Wintonia Hotel at 1431 Minor Avenue,
the First Covenant Church at 1500 Bellevue Avenue E, the Summit School/Northwest School at
1415 Summit Avenue, the Old Fire Station #25 at 1400 Harvard Avenue, the Kelly-Springfield
Motor Truck Company Building at 1525 Eleventh Avenue, the White Motor Company Building at
1021 E Pine Street, the First African Methodist Episcopal Church at 1522 14th Avenue, and the
Lincoln Reservoir at 1000 E Pine Street. See figures 23-30.
Note: A history of the Capitol Hill area is available in the form of a context statement in the City
of Seattles Department of Neighborhoods Historic Preservation Program Historic Property Survey
Report: Seattles Neighborhood Commercial Districts, available at:
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/contextcommercialreport.pdf.
4.2 Building History: Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway
The subject building was constructed by the Eldridge Buick Company in 1925 for a tire and service
shop. The architect was A. H. Albertson, and the builder was Stewart Construction Co.
Eldridge Tire used the building for ten years until 1936, when it was leased to Broadway Tire Service.
The building was conveniently located near the main Eldridge Buick dealership located on the same
block at 802 Pike Street, and accessible through the alley. By 1944, Davies Chevrolet Co. had located
its repair shop there. In 1960 Lyle Auto Cleaning was briefly located in the northern portion of the
building, while the southern portion was vacant. In 1963, a taxi service purchased the building, but
was only in operation at that location for a few years. By 1966, Hasson Shoe Repair occupied the
southern portion of the building, and Mels Barber Shop occupied the northern portion. In 1970,
Sams Barber Shop had replaced Mels. Today, the northern portion of the building is still occupied
by a barber shop. The southern portion was converted to a restaurant by 2010, when it was occupied
by the Broadway Caf. Today the tenant is Tacos Guaymas. See figures 31-32.
4.3: Historic Architectural Context
4.3.1: Historic Architectural Context: M ission Revival Style
The Mission Revival style was popular between 1890 and 1930 as a regional revival style, especially in
the western United States. In the later nineteenth century, Spanish Franciscan mission churches
inspired California architects like A. Page Brown, Bernard Maybeck, Irving Gill, and especially Lester
6
Mimi Sheridan, Historic Property Survey Report: Seattles Neighborhood Commercial Districts, City of Seattle
Department of Neighborhoods, November 2002. p. 28

S. Moore to create a regionally-appropriate style counterpart to the Colonial Revival.7 The Southern
Pacific Railway and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railway used the Mission Revival style for train stations and
other related tourist and train buildings, such as the San Diego National City and Otay Depot
(1896).8 The style became especially popular after 1893 when A. Page Brown employed it for the
California Pavilion at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. See figures 33-34.
The main fair buildings of the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon
featured the Spanish Renaissance style, with shaped parapets, stucco exterior and Baroque
ornamentation to display an Arts and Crafts aesthetic. The simplicity of the forms highlighted the
quality of materials of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Pacific Northwest.9 See figure 35.
The Mission Revival style was popular in Seattle. Landmarked buildings in this style include:
LAmourita Apartments (1909), Fire Station #13 (1928, architect uncertain), Fire Station #14 (1927,
Daniel R. Huntington), Fire Station #16 (1928, architect uncertain), Fire Station #37 (1925,
Huntington), Fire Station #38 (1930, Stewart), the Fremont Library (1921, Huntington), the
University Heights School (Bebb & Mendel, 1902) and the Metropolitan Press Printing Company
Building (1923, Stoddard & Son). Another significant Mission Revival-style building nearby the
subject building is the Booth Building (1906), on Broadway. Mission Revival-style automotive
buildings identified in the City of Seattle Historic Resources Survey Database include the Pontius
Garage at 421 Eastlake Avenue E (1926, William Bain, Sr.), the Olsen-Nicholson signal station
(1930) at 1433 34th Avenue, the Eldridge Buick showroom at 4500 University Way (1926, Schack,
Young & Meyers), the Durant-Star Co./Dunn Motors Showroom at 333 Westlake Ave N (1928,
Victor Voorhees), the Wilson Motor Company (1905, remodeled and expanded 1923) at 5320
Ballard Ave., and the Goodwin Texaco building at 2101 Third Avenue (1926). See figures 3640.
Elements of the Mission Revival include stucco walls, tile roofs, arched or shaped parapets, arched
openings, wide eaves with exposed rafter tails, and square towers. This differs from the Spanish
Revival. The former Eldridge Tire shop exhibits features of the Mission Revival style including the
parapet with red tile rooflet, pilasters extending up beyond the main datum of the parapet, arched
windows, exposed rafter tails at the wide eave of the porte-cochre, and arched window openings.
4.3.2 Historic Architectural Context: Auto Showrooms, Dealerships, and Automotive
Service Stores in Seattle
The subject building was designed as a one-story automobile parts and service building.
The automobile entered the American national commercial market in the early 1900s, when
manufacturers developed nationwide retail sales networks. Franchises were granted to agents to
develop dealerships to sell, repair, and promote the dozens of available models. In the beginning, these
dealerships were often associated with other transportation-related sales including livery stables,
blacksmiths, or bicycle shops, and the sales buildings themselves reflected these products and services.
Automobile sales soon eclipsed these sideline businesses. By 1913, local Seattle dealerships included
Ford, Buick, Overland, Cadillac, Studebaker, Chalmers, Winton, Packard, Hudson, Pierce-Arrow and
several others. Around that time the first buildings designed exclusively for automobile sales began to
appear in American cities.10
Between 1910 and 1920, automobile manufacturers began to influence the design of dealer
7
Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, "Mission Revival: 1890-1930,"
http://www.dahp.wa.gov/styles/mission-revival (accessed September 8, 2016).
8
Architectural Styles of America and Europe, "Mission Revival," https://architecturestyles.org/mission-revival/ (accessed
September 8, 2016).
9
Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, "Mission Revival: 1890-1930,"
http://www.dahp.wa.gov/styles/mission-revival (accessed September 8, 2016).
10
Ezra Abraham, The Evolution of Seattles Early Automobile Showrooms on Capitol Hill, Preservation of the
Vernacular Environment III, edited by Gail Lee Dubrow, Neile Graham, and Amy Scarfone (Seattle, WA: University of
Washington, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Preservation Planning & Design Program Working Papers, Vol.
III, Winter 1999), pp. 111-123.

showrooms, which in turn influenced service centers. Manufacturers encouraged dealers to build grand,
even palatial, buildings that were on par with downtown banks and hotel buildings. These showrooms
became corporate status symbols, and showrooms became virtual sales palaces, where affluent potential
buyers were entertained with subtle salesmanship.11 These buildings built just before and during the
1920s were often two- or three-story buildings flush with their streetfront property lines and featured
large plate glass windows that allowed better views of the automobiles inside.12 The exterior faades
were patterned similar to other contemporary commercial buildings. The buildings were often
constructed of reinforced concrete to allow fireproof construction and to accommodate heavy loads of
vehicles that were often serviced on upper floors above the showroom.13 Brick masonry, cast stone, and
terra cotta were used on the exterior, the latter two often highly ornamented with eclectic compositions
of Classical detailing. The Pacific McKay Building (1925) on Mercer Street, designed by architects
Harlan Thomas and Clyde Granger, was probably the best example of a 1920s dealership in Seattle
until its demolition in 2009.14 Other auto row buildings with terra cotta cladding include the White
Motor Company Building (City of Seattle Landmark, 1917, Julian F. Everett with William R. Kelley)
on Capitol Hill and the Cosmopolitan Motors/Murray Marsh Building (1925, Earl A. Roberts) on
Westlake Avenue. Examples of Mission or Spanish Revival auto showrooms include the Eldridge Buick
showroom at 4500 University Way (1926, Schack, Young & Meyers), the Durant-Star Co./Dunn
Motors Showroom at 333 Westlake Ave N (1928, Victor Voorhees). All of the auto dealerships used
large plate glass windows for their showrooms. See figures 41-43.
These new dealership buildings tended to cluster, often near wealthy residential areas, creating auto
rows. The first auto row in Seattle was on Capitol Hills Broadway, but others developed along
Westlake Avenue, Mercer Street, and Pine Street.15 Service centers and other automotive-related parts
stores were also located near these auto rows.16
As automobiles became popular, the need arose for parking and auto services, and new businesses
sprang up to serve this demand. Prior to the early 1900s, auto service shops had no distinct typology, as
they were usually associated with other transportation-related sales, including livery stables,
blacksmiths, or bicycle shops. Gasoline was originally sold at businesses such as hardware stores and
blacksmith shops, but in 1907 Standard Oil opened Seattles first drive-in filling station. By 1909, at
least eight stores were selling tires in Seattle. These included the Ajax-Grieb Rubber Company,
Firestone Rubber Company, Chanslor & Lyon selling Hartford Tires, Gorham Rubber Company
selling Goodrich Tires, Michelin Tire, Republic Tire Company, and Diamond Tire Company. Three
of the tire businessesFirestone, the Fisk Rubber Company, and Chanslor & Lyonwere located in a
retail space on the ground floor of the Roe Apartment building.17 In 1911, the Mitchell Motor Car
Company opened a dealership in Seattle at the corner of Broadway and E Pike Street, with a service
department as part of the business.18
By the 1920s, filling stations also offered parts and repair, as did auto dealerships and independent auto
service stations. Auto service buildings took different forms, from humble gas stations to multi-story
utilitarian garages such as the Garage Building for George L. Seibert in Westlake, to more elaborate
parts and service stores and garages, such as the Donahoe Garage by Charles Haynes, built in 1916, and
the Firestone Tire Service Station by the Austin Company built in 1930. See figures 44-46.
During these years Seattle was also undergoing profound changes in character, including rapid
population growth. Private automobiles began to replace public transit. As Susan Boyle reported in the
Landmark Nomination Report for the Pacific McKay and Ford McKay Buildings:
11
Ibid.
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Pacific Coast Architecture Database, "Pacific McKay Building, South Lake Union, Seattle,"
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/12206/ (accessed September 13, 2016).
15
Abraham.
16
Ibid.
17
Mrs. G. W. Walsh, Jr., Seattle, The Automobile Center: Broadway and Pike the Nucleus, The Coast, Alaska and the
Greater Northwest, volume 18, no. 6 (Seattle, WA: Coast Publishing Company, December 1909), p. 307.
18
Seattle Times, Owners of Mitchell Cars get Attention: Well-Equipped Service Department Adds to Business Success,
Says Manager Johnson of Local Branch, November 19, 1911, p. 43.
12

Seattle had grown to over 80,670 residents by 1900 as the citys economy had boomed
during the Alaska Gold Rush of 1897. By 1910, the city's population had risen to 237,194.
Growth was even more expansive in the years preceding World War I, and by 1920 Seattle
numbered 315,312. The population began to stabilize the following decade, and in 1930 it
was 365,583. During the first three decades of the 20th century, auto ownership grew
rapidly in Washington as it did nationwide. Motor vehicle registration in the state rose
steadily from 1914 through 1929, before dropping sharply with the onset of the Depression.
Percentage of the population with registered autos rose from just over 11% in 1921, to
nearly 25% in 1929. The greatest increases in number of vehicles registered occurred
between 1916 to 1917, 1922 to 1926, and 1928 to 1929. Between 1928 and 1929, more
than 35,000 new vehicles were registered in Washington State. In the following year, with
the onset of the Depression, fewer than 3,000 new autos were registered.19
The Great Depression of the 1930s had severe consequences on automobile manufacturers and their
dealerships. Many closed entirely; others drastically cut back operations.20 Automobile manufacturing
capacity was redirected to the war effort in the early 1940s.21 Post-war prosperity and new highway
construction brought increased automobile production and expansion of dealerships and service
centers.22
As automobiles became streamlined, so did the buildings that housed them, including service stations,
parking garages, and dealerships. The former S.L. Savidge dealership (now the Washington Talking
Book & Braille Library) designed by Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson, built in 1948, is
undoubtedly the finest example of an Art Deco automotive showroom in Seattle. However, even
humble gas stations adopted a more modern style. See figure 47.
As the growing cult of the automobile allowed for the expansion of suburbia in the 1940s and 1950s,
automobile dealers were encouraged to leave the decaying city cores for outlying areas with land that
was less expensive and allowed for large car lots and sprawling one-story showrooms and service
centers.23 Early expansion areas included Ballard, Roosevelt Way, and Lake City, but soon dealerships
opened east of Seattle, to the north in Lynnwood, and south as far as Auburn.24 Architectural style for
these new low-rise buildings included Streamline Moderne or boxy International Style knockoffs,
evolving into futuristic George Jetson spaceports.
4.4 Original Building Owner: A. S. Eldridge and the Eldridge Buick Co.
Arthur Symons Eldridge was born in 1873 in Flint, Michigan.25 In 1891 he enrolled at the Detroit
Business College. While in school he worked as a bank messenger and then as an assistant
bookkeeper, a position he held until 1893, when he moved to Coos Bay, Oregon, where his parents
were living.26
In 1894 he moved to Yaquina Bay on the coast of Oregon, where his uncle had arranged a job for
him with a jetty project. He worked first as a timekeeper, then a clerk, and then an engineer.27 In
1895 he went to Lansing, Michigan, to study mechanical engineering at Michigan State College
(now Michigan State University). Due to extreme eye strain, he withdrew in his third year.28
Once again his uncle arranged a job for him, this time on a breakwater in Buffalo, New York.
Eldridge married Alice Rogers of Coos Bay, OR in 1900, and by the age of 26 he was in charge of the
19
BOLA Architecture + Planning, Pacific McKay and Ford McKay Buildings, 601-615 Westlake Ave. N, City of Seattle
Landmark Nomination Report, March 2006.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
25
Donald Hathaway Clark, As We Look Back: A Brief Story of the Busy and Successful Life of Arthur Symons Eldridge,
1951.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.

breakwater, designing scows and derricks.29 In 1904, he went into business with his wife's brother-inlaw, a wholesaler in Portland, Oregon. Eldridge left the business almost immediately, suspecting it
would not be profitable.30 He applied for a position with the world's largest building contractor, J. G
White & Co. of New York, which offered him a position in the Philippines. Eldridge worked as
superintendent for a variety of building jobs, including contracts for the U.S. Army. While in the
Philippines, Eldridge contracted malaria and in 1909 departed for Victoria, British Columbia, and
then Florida to recuperate.31 He resigned from White & Co. and started the United Engineering &
Construction Co. in Portland, OR, serving as vice president and general manager.32 The company
built the Hawthorne Bridge across the Willamette River (Portland, 1910),33 the eastern wing of the
Multnomah County Courthouse (Portland, 1911)34, the Heilig Theater (Portland, 1910), the
Railway Exchange Building (Portland, 1910), and more. See figure 48.
Eldridge got into the business of selling Buicks by first being a Buick owner. Around 1909, he went
to purchase a new Buick in Portland and was told that there was a problem with supply and
distribution. He drove to Seattle to investigate, found that Buick sales were flagging, and saw a
business opportunity.35 Eldridge made an arrangement with Portland's Howard Auto Co. to
incorporate the Buick Auto Co., and in 1912 established sales and service in Seattle at 905 Pike
Street, a 16' x 40' showroom with an upstairs shop.36 In his first year in business, he sold 88 Buicks
eleven times more than were sold the year before he went into business. In 1913, the Howard Auto
Co. expanded the Buick division to Yakima Territory, and then further to Wenatchee and Spokane.37
Around 1914 Eldridge bought out his partner, Mel Johnson, gaining full control of the company and
changing its name to Northwest Buick Co. That same year Eldridge took over Buick sales for all of
Washington, northern Idaho, and Alaska. In 1916, the business started distributing GMC trucks;
these were sold from a showroom on Eleventh Avenue, while Buick sales moved to a building on
Harvard Avenue and Pike Street. In 1917, the business was reorganized, enlarged, and renamed the
Eldridge Buick Co. Within four years the company opened four new stores in the following
Washington cities: Everett (1916), Mt. Vernon (1917), Walla Walla (1918), and Yakima (1919). In
1919 Eldridge established the Eldridge Securities Co. in order to finance auto sales and allow buyers
to make monthly payments.38 See figures 21 & 49.
In 1925 Eldridge had a new three-story auto showroom designed and built in Spokane (Gustav
Pehrson, 1925).39 Buick president E. T. Strong came to Spokane to dedicate the building.40 The next
year, expanding within Seattle, Eldridge constructed the showroom at the corner of Roosevelt Way
NE and NE 45th Street (1926, Schack, Young & Myers). In 1928, Eldridge opened a 9,500 square
foot one-story building in Ballard at 2036 Market Street, and another at 205 Westlake Avenue North
in the former Edward Roesch Velie Company/Dunn Motor Building.41 See figures 42 & 50.
In 1929 Eldridge joined Hawthorne K. Dent of Seattle to form the First National Insurance Co.,
serving as vice president and director. Also in 1929, Eldridge met with twelve other Buick dealers
group that represented 50% of all Buick sales in the United Statesin Breezy Point, MN.42 In 1930
Eldridge became director of the Metropolitan Building Co., and served as director of the National
29
Ibid.
Ibid.
31
Ibid.
32
Ibid.
33
Bridgehunter.com, "Hawthorne Bridge," http://bridgehunter.com/or/multnomah/hawthorne-avenue/ (accessed
September 12, 2016).
34
John Deacon, "Multnomah County, County CourthousePortland," from "American Courthouses: a photo archive,"
http://www.courthouses.co/us-states/o-u/oregon/multnomah-county/ (accessed September 12, 2016).
35
Clark.
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid.
38
Ibid. Seattle Daily Times, Throngs Attend Ballard Buick Building Opening, March 18, 1928, p. 3.
39
"Historic Properties of Spokane: Eldridge Building," Spokane Historic Preservation Office,
http://properties.historicspokane.org/property/?PropertyID=1790 (accessed September 12, 2016).
40
Clark.
41
Ibid.
42
Ibid.
30

Motor Car Dealers' Association. In 1936 Eldridge closed all sales agencies and leased the business
properties, and subsequently went into business with his son, founding the Tri-State Finance Co.43
Eldridge lived most of his life in Seattle in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, and was a known yachting
enthusiast. In 1926, he purchased the Jes-A-Mar, an 83-foot diesel motor yacht designed by Ted
Geary, and re-named it Alarwee, which he sold in 1933. Eldridge died in March 8, 1954.44
4.5 Subsequent Building Owner: Seattle Central College
Seattle Central College, located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, is an accredited state college, and
one of three community colleges that compose the Seattle Colleges District. Currently the central
campus provides programs including Information Technologies, Business Administration, Apparel
Design, Cosmetology, and Culinary Arts. Seattle Central College also administers short-term job
training programs at the Seattle Vocational Institute, and operates two satellite branches, the Wood
Technology facility at 2310 S. Lane Street, and the Seattle Maritime Academy located on the Lake
Washington Ship Canal adjacent to the Ballard Bridge. Together the colleges comprise the largest
community college district in Washington State, educating more than 50,000 students each year.
The college evolved from the former Edison Vocational Technical Institute, located in the former
Broadway High School located on Broadway, on Capitol Hill. The 1902 high school and the
adjacent Edison Technical School were converted to a vocational and adult education institution in
1946 for the benefit of veterans who wanted to finish high school.45 See figures 51-52.
The first college classes were held in the facility in 1966. The State Community College Act of 1967
established college districts apart from public schools, with a mandate to provide an open door to
education for all who seek it.46
In addition to a central campus, north and south campuses were planed. Both campus facilities were
completed in 1970, with the three colleges forming a multi-campus district reconstituted as Seattle
Community College. In the mid-1970s the original Broadway High School was demolished, with the
exception of the western assembly hall, and replaced with a modern concrete structure. The assembly
hall was upgraded and became Seattle Central Colleges Broadway Performance Hall. The Seattle
Vocational Institute became affiliated with the Central Campus in 1991, under the Washington
States Work Force Training and Education Act. In addition to the Maritime Academy and Centrals
Wood Technology Center, the south campus has two other specialized training centers, one in
Georgetown and the New Holly Center.47 See figure 53.
In March 2014, the Seattle Community Colleges District Board of Trustees voted to change the
name of the district to Seattle Colleges, and to change the names of the colleges to Seattle Central
College, North Seattle College, and South Seattle College, and offer baccalaureate degrees.48
Presently Seattle Central College offers two accredited bachelors degree programs, a Bachelor of
Applied Science in Applied Behavioral Science, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Allied Health.
The college also offers two-year associate degrees, eligible for the states Direct Transfer Agreement
that guarantees credits taken will be accepted for transfer to any state university for completion of a
Bachelor of Science or Arts.49
Seattle Central Colleges campus also includes the Mitchell Activity Center, an 85,000-square-foot
athletic facility constructed in 1996. It includes racquetball and squash courts, an indoor swimming
pool, gymnasiums, a strength training facility, and a game room.
43
Ibid.
Seattle Times, "A. S. Eldridge, Former Auto Dealer, Dies," March 8, 1954, p. 25.
45
Paul Dorpat, Broadway High School, Seattles first dedicated high school, opens in 1902, HistoryLink.org Essay 3204,
April 15, 2001, http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?Display Page=output.cfm&file_id=3204 (accessed July 20, 2016).
46
Seattle Community Colleges, College History, https://www.seattlecolleges.edu/district/district/history.aspx (accessed
July 20, 2016).
47
Ibid.
48
Julie Muhlstein, Two-year colleges trending away from community name, Everett Herald, March 21, 2014,
http://www.herald.net.com/article/20140321/NEWS01/140329804 (accessed July 20, 2016).
49
Seattle Central College.
44

4.6 Building Architect: A. H. Albertson 50

The architect for the subject building was Abraham Horace Albertson.51 Albertson was born in New
Jersey in 1872. He graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1895.52 He practiced
architecture in New York with the firm Clinton & Russell before moving to Minnesota in 1905 and
then to Seattle in 1907. He came to Seattle as a representative of the New York firm Howells &
Stokes. The Seattle office of Howells & Stokes was hired by the Metropolitan Building Company to
prepare plans for the development of the University of Washingtons Metropolitan Tract, including
the Metropolitan Theater.53 By 1910, Albertson was a member of the Seattle Branch of the American
Institute of Architects.54 See figure 54.
Joseph Wade Wilson went to work at Howells & Stokes in Seattle in 1907, after having graduated
from the University of Illinois with degrees in engineering and architecture. Paul D. Richardson
became a draftsman at Howells & Stokes after a brief architectural apprenticeship. Between 1917 and
1920, the firm Howells & Stokes evolved into Howells & Albertson.55 By 1919, Albertson was
operating the firm A.H. Albertson & Associates.56 Both Wilson and Richardson followed Albertson
to the new firm.57 They completed most of the remaining buildings for the development of the
Metropolitan Tract, including the White and Stuart Annexes (1922-23, both demolished), the Arena
Building (1915, 1922-25, demolished), and the Stimson Building (1923-25, demolished).58
Albertson also practiced independently during the early 1920s, designing Kerry Hall, at Cornish
college of the Arts, in a Spanish Colonial Revival Style (1921).59 He worked with douard Frre
Champney to design the Womens University Club (1922), and consulted with John A. Creutzer on
the Medical and Dental Building.60 See figure 55.
Both Wilson and Richardson were generally listed as Albertsons associates on the firms drawings
after 1924.61 During the next several years, the reorganized firm produced designs for several
additions to the old Childrens Orthopedic Hospital (now Queen Anne Manor Retirement
Community), the Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian Church (1922-25), the Becker Building in Aberdeen
(1925-26), the Security Bank Building in Olympia (1926), and the First Presbyterian Church in
Yakima (1926-28). The firm also completed some residential projects such as Mrs. Grant Smith
House (1926-27, City of Seattle Landmark). 62 See figure 56.
What is considered the firms most significant work, the Great Northern Life Tower (City of Seattle
Landmark, 1927-29, now the Seattle Tower), is a finely detailed step-back Art Deco skyscraper.63
Later projects include the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church (1928-29), the City of Everett
Municipal Building (1928-29), the Saint Joseph Catholic Church (City of Seattle Landmark, 192930), the New Central Branch of the YMCA (City of Seattle Landmark, 1929-31), and the Saint John
Catholic Church (1930-31).64 The firm also completed designs for two buildings on the University of
Washington campus during this period, the Law Building (1931-33, now Gowan Hall) and the New
50
Adapted from Larry E. Johnson, Waldo General Hospital Landmark Nomination Report, 2006-2007, The Johnson
Partnership, 2014.
51
City of Seattle, Building Permit 241449.
52
Thomas Veith, Albertson, Wilson & Richardson, in Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to Architecture,
ed. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994), p. 162.
53
Ibid.
54
Alan Michaelson, Abraham Horace Albertson, Pacific Coast Architecture Database,
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2219 (accessed August 25, 2016).
55
Veith, p. 162.
56
Cherry Jarvis, Abraham H. Albertson, 1872-1964, Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic
Preservation, adapted from Womens University Club National Register Nomination. http://www.dahp.wa.gov/learn-andresearch/architect-biographies/abraham-h-alberston (accessed August 25, 2016).
57
Veith, p. 164.
58
Ibid., p. 163.
59
Cornish College of the Arts, "Kerry Hall," http://www.cornish.edu/campus/kerry_hall (accessed September 13, 2016).
60
Veith, pp. 163-164.
61
Ibid., p. 164.
62
Veith, pp. 164-165.
63
Ibid., p. 165.
64
Ibid., pp. 165-166.

Infirmary (1934-1935, now David C. Hall Health Center).65 See figures 57-61.
The firm was known as Albertson, Wilson & Richardson after 1935, but the Great Depression of the
1930s had disastrous effects on their practice, as it did with most architectural firms. Richardson died
suddenly on April 10, 1939. After Richardsons death, Albertson and Wilson went to work for the
Washington State office of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), closing down their Seattle office.
Albertson died on April 18, 1964, and Wilson died on September 7, 1968.66
4.7 Building Contractor: Stewart Construction Co.
The contractor for the subject building was the Stewart Construction Company.67
Prepared by:
Larry E. Johnson, AIA
Ellen F.C. Mirro, AIA
Katherine V. Jaeger
1212 NE 65th Street
Seattle, WA 98115
www.tjp.us
65
Ibid., p. 166.
Ibid.
67
City of Seattle Building Permit #241449.
66

5. Bibliography
Abraham, Ezra. The Evolution of Seattles Early Automobile Showrooms on Capitol Hill.
Preservation of the Vernacular Environment III, edited by Gail Lee Dubrow, Neile Graham, and
Amy Scarfone (Seattle, WA: University of Washington, College of Architecture and Urban
Planning, Preservation Planning & Design Program Working Papers, Vol. III, Winter 1999).
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; Appendix 1, Memorandum of Agreement; October
1978.
Architectural Styles of America and Europe. "Mission Revival," https://architecturestyles.org/missionrevival/ (accessed September 8, 2016).
BOLA Architecture + Planning. Pacific McKay and Ford McKay Buildings, 601-615 Westlake Ave.
N. City of Seattle Landmark Nomination Report, March 2006.
Bridgehunter.com. "Hawthorne Bridge." http://bridgehunter.com/or/multnomah/hawthorneavenue/ (accessed September 12, 2016).
City of Seattle, Building Permit 241449.
Clark, Donald Hathaway. As We Look Back: A Brief Story of the Busy and Successful Life of Arthur
Symons Eldridge. 1951.
Cornish College of the Arts. "Kerry Hall." http://www.cornish.edu/campus/kerry_hall (accessed
Deacon, John. "Multnomah County, County CourthousePortland." "American Courthouses: a
photo archive," http://www.courthouses.co/us-states/o-u/oregon/multnomah-county/ (accessed
Decoster, Dotty. Nagle, John H. (1830-1897). HistoryLink.org Essay 9268, January 23, 2010,
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9268 (accessed August
23, 2014).
Dorpat, Paul. Broadway High School, Seattles first dedicated high school, opens in 1902.
HistoryLink.org Essay 3204, April 15, 2001, http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?Display
Page=output.cfm&file_id=3204 (accessed July 20, 2016).
Jarvis, Cherry. Abraham H. Albertson, 1872-1964. Washington State Department of Archaeology
& Historic Preservation, adapted from Womens University Club National Register
Nomination. http://www.dahp.wa.gov/learn-and-research/architect-biographies/abraham-halberston (accessed August 25, 2016).
Johnson, Larry E. Waldo General Hospital Landmark Nomination Report, 2006-2007. The
Johnson Partnership, 2014.
Michaelson, Alan. Abraham Horace Albertson. Pacific Coast Architecture Database,
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2219 (accessed August 25, 2016).
Muhlstein, Julie. Two-year colleges trending away from community name, Everett Herald,
March 21, 2014, http://www.herald.net.com/article/20140321/NEWS01/140329804 (accessed
July 20, 2016).
Pacific Coast Architecture Database. "Pacific McKay Building, South Lake Union, Seattle."
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/12206/ (accessed September 13, 2016).
Seattle Central College.
Seattle Community Colleges. College History.
https://www.seattlecolleges.edu/district/district/history.aspx (accessed July 20, 2016).

Seattle Daily Times. Throngs Attend Ballard Buick Building Opening. March 18, 1928, p. 3.
Seattle Times. "A. S. Eldridge, Former Auto Dealer, Dies." March 8, 1954, p. 25.
. Owners of Mitchell Cars get Attention: Well-Equipped Service Department Adds to Business
Success, Says Manager Johnson of Local Branch. November 19, 1911, p. 43.
Thompson, Nile & Carolyn J. Marr. Building for Learning, Seattle Public Schools Histories, 18622000. Seattle, WA: School Histories Committee, Seattle School District, 2002.
Spokane Historic Preservation Office. "Historic Properties of Spokane: Eldridge Building."
http://properties.historicspokane.org/property/?PropertyID=1790 (accessed September 12,
2016).
Veith, Thomas. Albertson, Wilson & Richardson. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide
to Architecture, ed. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994.
Walsh, Mrs. G. W., Jr., Seattle, The Automobile Center: Broadway and Pike the Nucleus. The
Coast, Alaska and the Greater Northwest, volume 18, no. 6. Seattle, WA: Coast Publishing
Company, December 1909.
Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. "Mission Revival: 18901930." http://www.dahp.wa.gov/styles/mission-revival (accessed September 8, 2016).

A PPENDIX 1
F IGURES
Google Maps
Lake Union
Broadway Avenue
Interstate-5
Area of
enlargement
next page
Seattle
Central
College
Project
Site
Elliott Bay
First Hill
Seattle
University
Central
Business
District
Figure 1 Location Map, Seattle

September 2016
A-1
Seattle City Clerk
Line of Pike / Pine

Conservation
Overlay District
East Pine Street
Subject Site
East Pike Street
FIRST HILL
Figure 2 Neighborhood map

September 2016
A-2
The Johnson Partnership, 7/15/16
Subject Site
Figure 3 View A - Viewing north along Broadway

Subject Site
Figure 4 View B - Viewing south along Broadway

September 2016
A-3
Pine Street
Plantings
Parking
P.L. 60'
P.L. 60
P.L. 120'
Broadway
alley
sidewalk
P.L. 120'
Pike Street
Figure 5 Site Plan
Drn: SMC Chkd: LEJ

Date:
Detail:
Site Plan
Rev.:
Eldridge Tire/1519
Broadway
Scale:
Project Name
Project Address, Seattle, WA
A-4
COPYRIGHT
1519
September 2016
Figure 6 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway eastern faade

Figure 7 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront

September 2016
A-5
Figure 8 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront

Figure 9 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail at roof

September 2016
A-6
Figure 10 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront & porte-cochre

Figure 11 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, southern storefront

September 2016
A-7
Figure 12 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail of tile

Figure 13 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, western faade

September 2016
A-8
Figure 14 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, interior at southern retail space


September 2016
A-9

September 2016
A-10
Seattle Municipal Archives 7280
Figure 17 Lincoln Reservoir under construction, September 18, 1899

UW Spec Coll. Seattle Photograph Coll., SEA0505
Figure 18 Pike Street from Broadway Avenue E, 1911

September 2016
A-11
UW Libraries Digital Collections SEA 1444
Figure 19 Broadway High School, Broadway and E Pine Street, 1908

UW Special Collections, SEA 0475
Figure 20 Auto row buildings in Capitol Hill, Seattle, 1921

September 2016
A-12
Puget Sound Regional Archives
Figure 21 Eldridge Motors, 1936

Figure 22 Former Broadway State Bank, Broadway and Pike, 1936 (Louis & Michael Beezer, 1913)

September 2016
A-13
Joe Mabel
Figure 23 The Wintonia Hotel, 1431 Minor Avenue (Bebb & Mendel, 1909, City of Seattle Landmark)
Swedish Club via Paul Dorpat
Figure 24 First Covenant Church, 1500 Bellevue Avenue E (John Creutzer, 1910-1911, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-14
National Register of Historic Places
Figure 25 The Summit School/Northwest School, 1415 Summit Avenue (James Stephen, 1905, City of Seattle
Landmark)
unknown via Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Figure 26 Old Fire Station #25, 1400 Harvard Avenue (Somervell & Cote, 1909, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-15
Figure 27 Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company Building, 1525 11th Avenue (Julian Everett, 1917, City of Seattle
Landmark)
Figure 28 White Motor Company Building, 1021 E Pine Street (Julian Everett, 1917-18, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-16
Joe Mabel
Figure 29 First African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1522 14th Avenue (1912, City of Seattle Landmark)
1907 postcard via Rob Ketcherside, wikimedia commons
Figure 30 Lincoln Reservoir, 1000 E Pine Street (R. H. Thompson, 1900, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-17
Figure 31 Eldridge Tire, 1519 Broadway, 1937

City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
Figure 32 Broadway Cafe, former Eldridge Tire, 1519 Broadway, 2010

September 2016
A-18
via Save Our Heritage Organization
Figure 33 San Diego National City and Otay Depot (1896),

Flickr2036
Figure 34 California Pavilion at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago (A. Page Brown, 1892-93)

September 2016
A-19
Library of Congress
Figure 35 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, OR, 1905

Paul Dorpat
Figure 36 LAmourita Apartments, Seattle (1909)

September 2016
A-20
MOHAI
Figure 37 Cornish School, also known as the Booth Building, Broadway (1906)
Google Streetview
Figure 38 Garage for A. A. Bain and A. D. Schafer/Pontius Garage, 421 Eastlake Avenue (William Bain, Sr., 1926)

September 2016
A-21
City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
Figure 39 Wilson Motor Company, Ballard Avenue (1905, 1923)

TJP 2007
Figure 40 Goodwin Texaco building at 2101 Third Avenue (1926)

September 2016
A-22
UW Digital Collections SEA3115
Figure 41 The Pacific McKay Building (Harlan Thomas and Clyde Granger, 1925, City of Seattle Landmark)
As We Look Back
Figure 42 Eldridge Buick showroom, 4500 University Way (Schack, Young & Meyers, 1926)

September 2016
A-23
Joe Mabel
Figure 43 Durant-Star Co./Dunn Motors Showroom, 333 Westlake Ave N (1928, Victor Voorhees)
Figure 44 Garage Building for George L. Seibert, Westlake (Earl Roberts, 1924)

September 2016
A-24
Google Streetview
Figure 45 Former Donahoe Garage (Charles Haynes, 1916)

Figure 46 Firestone Tire, 400 Westlake Avenue (The Austin Company, 1930, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-25
University of Washington Special Collections
Figure 47 S. L. Savidge dealership (now the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, Naramore, Bain, Brady &
Johanson, 1948)
MOHAI
Figure 48 Arthur S. and Alice Eldridge at their house in Laurelhurst

September 2016
A-26
As We Look Back
Figure 49 Eldridge Buick Truck Sales and Service, 1100 E Union Street, 1916
As We Look Back
Figure 50 Eldridge Buick, Spokane, WA, (Gustav Pehrson, 1925, National Register)

September 2016
A-27
Paul Dorpat
Figure 51 Former Broadway High School (Boone & Corner, 1902)

Seattle Public Schools
Figure 52 Broadway High School Annex, Edison Technical School (1921-1930)

September 2016
A-28
SSF Engineers
Figure 53 Broadway Edison Building, Seattle Central College 2010 (NBBJ, 1979)
University of Washington Libraries CUR1684
Figure 54 Metropolitan Theatre (A. H. Albertson of Howell & Stokes, 1910-11)

September 2016
A-29
UW Special Collections CUR1504
Figure 55 Cornish School (A. H. Albertson, 1920-21)

Lani Doely for The Johnson Partnership
Figure 56 Mrs. Grant Smith House (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1926-27, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-30
UW Special Collections CUR58199
Figure 57 Downtown YMCA (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 1929-31, City of Seattle Landmark)
University of Washington Libraries PAM0039
University of Washington Libraries SEA1085
Figure 58 Northern Life Building (A. H. Albertson &

Associates, 1927-29, City of Seattle Landmark)
Figure 59 St. Joseph Catholic Church (A. H. Albertson

& Associates, 1929-30, City of Seattle Landmark)

September 2016
A-31
University of Washington Libraries CFT0234
Figure 60 Law Building, now Gowan Hall, University of Washington (A. H. Albertson & Associates, 193132)
University of Washington Medicine
Figure 61 New Infirmary Building, now the David C. Hall Health Center, University of Washington (A. H. Albertson &
Associates, 1934-35)

September 2016
A-32

A PPENDIX 2
L IST OF EXTANT
R ICHARDSON
BUILDINGS IN
S EATTLE
BY
A LBERTSON , W ILSON &
E XCERPTED FROM S HAPING S EATTLE A RCHITECTURE : A H ISTORICAL G UIDE TO THE

A RCHITECTS , EDITED BY J EFFREY O CHSNER
Childrens Orthopedic Hospital (now Queen Anne Manor Retirement Community)
100 Crockett Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Cobb Building
1305 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Kerry Hall, Cornish School (now Cornish College of the Arts) (1921)
710 E Roy Street
Seattle, WA 98102
[New] Infirmary Building (now Hall Health Center)
University of Washington campus
Seattle, WA 98195
Law Building (now Gowan Hall) (1932)
University of Washington campus
Seattle, WA 98195
Medical and Dental Building (now Medical Dental Building)
509 Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98101
Mount Baker Park Presbyterian Church
3201 Hunter Blvd. S
Seattle, WA 98144
Northern Life Tower (now Seattle Tower) (1929)
1218 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
St. John Catholic Church
7912 First Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98103
St. Joseph Catholic Church
732 18th Ave E
Seattle, WA 981103
Mrs. Grant Smith House (also known as Stuart House or Stuart/Balcom Residence, National
Register and City of Seattle Landmark) (1926)
619 W Comstock St.
Seattle, WA 98119
Trinity Episcopal Church
6512 23rd Ave. NW
Seattle, WA 98117
Womens University Club
1105 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

YMCANew Central Branch

909 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Becker Building
114 S I Street
Aberdeen, WA 98520
South Court Apartments
834 Seventh Street
Bremerton, WA 98310
Municipal Building for the City of Everett (1929)
3002 Wetmore Avenue
Everett, WA 98201
Security Bank Building
203 Fourth Avenue E
Olympia, WA 98501
First Presbyterian Church
9 S Eighth Avenue
Yakima, WA 98902
Royal Insurance Building (now Furth Building)
201 Sansome Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Waldo General Hospital (1924)
8511 15th Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98115

LPBCurrentNom - Eldridge Tire-1519 Broadway LMN R

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1519 Broadway/Eldridge Tire Company

1519 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122

Stephen J. Starling, AIA

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Landmark Nomination Report

The Johnson Partnership

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

PROPERTY DATA ............................................................................................................................... 2

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................ 3

APPENDIX 1FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. 16

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Figure 1 Location Map, Seattle............................................................................................................. A-1

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Property Size: 7,200 sq. ft.

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Repair fire damage

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

4.6 Building Architect: A. H. Albertson 50

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Figure 1 Location Map, Seattle

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

Seattle City Clerk

Line of Pike / Pine

East Pike Street

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership, 7/15/16

Figure 3 View A - Viewing north along Broadway

Figure 4 View B - Viewing south along Broadway

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership

Drn: SMC Chkd: LEJ

The Johnson Partnership, 7/15/16

Figure 6 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway eastern faade

Figure 7 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership, 9/9/2016

Figure 8 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront

Figure 9 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail at roof

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership, 9/9/2016

Figure 10 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, northern storefront & porte-cochre

Figure 11 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, southern storefront

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership, 9/9/2016

Figure 12 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, detail of tile

Figure 13 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, western faade

Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway

The Johnson Partnership, 9/9/2016

Figure 14 Eldridge Tire/1519 Broadway, interior at southern retail space